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Saturday, January 2, 2016

2016 and Forensic Medicine in the Horizon

Happy New year to all my blog readers and contributors. Last year was quite hectic with work schedules and we discussed fewer topics than we did the previous year. As we set out this year journey, there are certain indices we need to keep a tab on regarding Forensic Medicine and Human Rights in Africa:
  1. What investments are governments, institutions and relevant agencies in Africa making regarding infrastructure and human capital in forensic medicine?
  2. How many African countries have accredited institutions for training in forensic medicine?
  3. How many laboratories, both public and private, have any recognized accreditation to undertake credible forensic analyses in Africa?
  4. How many cases of sexual violence in Africa are managed by trained forensic medicine practitioners in that field?
  5. How many African countries have specially trained Police Unit to handle cases of sexual violence and child abuse?
  6. How many African countries have enabling law that makes it easy for victims of sexual violence to seek medical and judicial redress?
  7. How many African countries have forensic protocols for dealing with injuries or death in custody, and also forensic medicine practitioners protected by law to give independent assessment and evidence on conditions of those in custody be it prisons, police detentions/cells, holding cells of  State Secrete Service officers and other military and parameter units?
  8. How many African countries have accountability mechanisms to either forestall or for forensic investigation of summary and arbitrary execution of detainees especially by state actors?
  9. What are the modalities for the forensic investigation of torture and other inhuman treatment by state actors in African countries?
  10. How many African countries have an independent ombudsman that looks into complaints of abuse of power by both state and non state actors and agencies?
  11. How many African countries pay a closer look than the "act of God" attitude in forensic investigation of traffic crashes through established Traffic Medicine protocol?
  12. How many African countries have legal blood alcohol limit against which relevant agencies could prosecute offending drivers/persons after undertaking appropriate forensic analysis by qualified personnel?
  13. How many African countries have a functional forensic death investigation system that accounts for every life? 
The list of items is endless and across Africa, people can identify with these questions  with the broader issue of the rule of law, accountability, justice, and humanity. It may not be possible to have a society completely free of abuse, violence and inhumanity but every society must endeavor to put in place a credible system that checks impunity and ensures accountability. This will be a viable means of upholding human rights in our communities across Africa, and investment is forensic medicine practice is veritable way of achieving this goal in the New Year and beyond.

Once again, Happy New year!

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